Dermatology Service Conducts Clinical Trial
The Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s Dermatology Service is the lead center of a 12-week, multiple facility clinical trial that seeks to determine the optimal dose of the drug antifolate aminopterin in treating dogs with moderate atopic dermatitis—a common allergic skin disease.
The trial continues an earlier “proof-of-concept” pilot study conducted by the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) that found antifolate aminopterin provided more than 80% of the participating dogs with more than 80% reduction in clinical score without side effects during the study period.
Based on the information gained in the VTH-sponsored preliminary study, the drug manufacturer, Syntrix Biosystems, Inc., obtained a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease to continue the research and determine the optimal dosing schedule. Dermatology faculty members contributed to the design of the new investigation and are recruiting dogs for the randomized blinded control trial.
Study participants will be randomized into one of five groups receiving either a placebo or aminnopterin at three different doses and two frequencies of administration. The drug will be given twice weekly in a blinded fashion and there will be one initial evaluation and five follow-up evaluations during the study. Visits, all laboratory tests, and medications are provided at no cost to the owner.
This trial will be run mostly as part of the newly designed Clinical Studies Core (CSC) of NC State University’s Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research under the joint leadership and supervision of Drs. Kim Chappell (CSC) and Thierry Olivry (Dermatology).
To refer patients for this trial, please call the VTH Dermatology Service at 919.513.6543. For questions, please e-mail ccmtr_csc@ncsu.edu.
Posted June 30, 2009
